Charting the Daily Weather

A good way to learn about weather is to keep a daily record of the local weather. You can make a simple chart to keep track of this information, recording some of the following weather categories:

Temperature is the measurement of heat in the atmosphere. You can use an outdoor minimum/maximum thermometer to record the daily high and low temperatures, or call your local weather service. You can also find out this information using an internet weather forecasting site. For older students, you might want to record the temperature in both Fahrenheit and degrees Celsius.

Wind is the movements of air in a certain direction caused by the cycle of warm air rising and cold air sinking toward the earth. If you do not have a wind anemometer (used to measure wind speed), try calling your local National Weather Service (NWS) to get this information.

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. Relative humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air at one temperature compared to the total amount (saturation point) of water vapor that the air can hold at that temperature. If you have a hygrometer or psychrometer, you can measure relative humidity on your own; otherwise, call the NWS.

Barometric pressure is the measure of the pressure in the atmosphere. It is measured in inches mercury, millimeters mercury, or hectapascals. Use your own barometer or call the NWS to find out the daily atmospheric pressure.

Atmospheric conditions are the description of different types of weather. The common atmospheric conditions are clear, partly cloudy, cloudy, rain, snow, sleet, thunder, fog, and hail.

Precipitation is moisture from the atmosphere that is redeposited on earth. Usually when air reaches the saturation point some form of precipitation occurs. Different kinds of precipitation are formed based on the temperature and what types of particles are in the air. Rain, dew, snow, hail, and sleet are all forms of precipitation.

Wind chill does not change the actual temperature outside, but it makes you feel colder because it blows away insulating warm air that is next to your skin. When there is a severe wind chill factor you should not go outside with any of your skin exposed. To get the daily wind chill factor, call the NWS.